


Firestorm

by Beryll (Rynthjan)



Series: Sir Yaden [6]
Category: Original Work
Genre: M/M, Minor Character Death, Psychics, Shiraz, Slavery, Violence, phoenix empire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-28
Updated: 2013-03-06
Packaged: 2017-12-03 21:28:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/702816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rynthjan/pseuds/Beryll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ivan has just started his training as Yaden's squire when they are called away on their first joint mission. A rogue psion is wrecking havoc on Shiraz. Can Yaden and Ivan neutralize the threat before more innocents get hurt or killed…?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set in the year 5038 of the Phoenix Empire timeline

Yaden watched Ivan train. His new squire was sitting cross-legged in a corner of the big training room, fully concentrating on the task Yaden had set for him.

The training rooms of the Phoenix Knight Tower were built to withstand a ton of punishment. After all, Sir Rage himself had trained here when he was still on active duty and he was renowned all over the Empire for the wholesale destruction he wrecked wherever he went.

Still Yaden and Ivan had effortlessly ruined the training room they had used the previous day to do a thorough assessment of what Ivan could do. Yaden had no doubt that in the long run they would have to find another solution and training ground. Once they got into combat training where they both reached for the full extent of their powers, they would have to find a place well out of the way of any human inhabited urban zones.

Right now though, Ivan was only a small threat. His task was picked to make him practise control over his fire.

Yaden smirked. Ivan's incredulous expression when Yaden showed him what he was supposed to do had been priceless. It sounded simple enough. He was sitting next to a cooler box filled with raw sausages. His task was to gently grill them, one by one. His reward that he got to eat all sausages he managed to get into an edible state.

So far the score was 18:0 in favour of the sausages.

The first few had ended up as tiny black charred chunks in a matter of minutes and Yaden had been thoroughly impressed by the variety of swear words his new squire commanded. Making huge, hot flames apparently was a lot easier than making small ones with precisely regulated heat. But Ivan was as stubborn as a mule and he hadn't given up.

Yaden was using the opportunity for some training of his own. He sat a few feet away from Ivan, well out of range should there be an eruption of frustration and fire. He was concentrating on sensing the energy flow through Ivan. He knew that it was possible for psions to tap into each others energy and share it or even channel power to one focal psion who would than use it for especially large effects. That was how the Psions Guild powered their commercial network of telepathic communication and transport.

Yaden had had only very few opportunities to practice this. With Ivan he hoped to change that. They would benefit greatly from being able to draw from each others energy. It would be a vital first step to ever being able to create synergy effects, though he had no idea how to make this work with the tattoos on his forearms hiding all his psychic activities.

But first, Yaden had to hone his perception of energy flow in general. That it was quite fascinating how Ivan slowly got a grip on his own power certainly helped to keep Yaden focused. He was pretty sure that Ivan would get his first properly grilled sausage to enjoy soon.

It was about time, too. Yaden planned to reward his squire with a session of combat training once he had succeeded in his task. They didn't have all afternoon to do that, though.

Tonight was the premiere of "Sir Yaden and the Demon Witches of Leichnam" and Yaden was scheduled to appear on the red carpet together with Colin and Ivan so they would need some time to eat and get ready in between training and the event.

The delicious smell of freshly grilled meat was wafting over to Yaden and he smiled as a triumphant grin appeared on Ivan's face. With a slight wave of his hand Ivan extinguished the small, glowing flames he had maintained close to his sausage.

"Ha!" he exclaimed and looked over at Yaden expectantly.

"Well done." Yaden praised, feeling quite proud of what his squire had accomplished.

With obvious relish Ivan bit into his first properly grilled sausage. Then he hissed as it obviously was hotter than he had expected and Yaden chuckled. Maybe flames didn't hurt Ivan, but he could burn his tongue on hot meat like any other man. Though Yaden still wasn't entirely sure what flames might hurt Ivan under what conditions. Another psion attacking him with fire would have his will behind the plain heat and might still do damage. And natural flames which Ivan wasn't aware of might well pose a danger, too. Further testing would be required.

Ivan was gently blowing on his sausage to cool it down to an edible temperature. "Do you want one, too?" he asked. "I think I have the hang of it now."

Yaden was just about to accept that generous invitation when a loud knock on the door to the training room interrupted them.

"Come in!" Yaden called.

He was sure that no one would enter a training room when the sign outside the door was turned to 'in use'. After all there was no way to tell what kind of hazards might await within.

It was Major Li-Ma who opened the door and poked her head inside cautiously as if she expected a major natural disaster to lurk in a corner and get ready to attack her. She was General Hamilton's assistant and he was training her to one day take over his job. One day far in the future. Despite the fact that she had already served as a Captain in the infamous Malachite Guard of Consort Amadeus, she still had a very hard time of dealing with the chaos and weirdness of the Phoenix Knight Tower.

"Sir Yaden?" she addressed him without fully coming inside. "General Hamilton wants to see you immediately. An emergency has come up."

If Ivan had owned big, furry ears he would have perked them up eagerly now, Yaden thought amused. His squire looked like he was ready to bounce up and down with excitement. Yaden didn't even bother asking him if he was ready. He got to his feet and gestured Ivan to follow him. When the General said immediately, he definitely meant just that.

They made their way up several levels from the sub basement where the training rooms were located. Ivan used the opportunity to quickly wolf down his sausage. That was one lesson he had learned already - never waste food.

When they got to General Hamilton's office, Li-Ma ushered them in and closed the door behind them. The General didn't look up from the report he was reading with an annoyed frown. "Ah, good, you're here." He grumbled. "Don't bother sitting down. Here's the deal: A few hours ago, a rogue psion attacked a small town on Shiraz. Two buildings have been burned down and we have three confirmed dead with several more injured. You'll be ported right to the town immediately. Neutralize the psion before he can do more damage and assist the local authorities any way you can. Questions?"

"Erh… sir… the PR team expects me to make an appearance at the movie premiere tonight…" Yaden ventured cautiously. He was pretty sure what answer he would get to that, but he wanted it from the General himself so he could later point the PR team and their complaints to his superior.

Now General Hamilton did look up at them. "Last time I checked, the PR team was still promoting you and not the other way around." He growled. "If they have a problem, they better deal with it themselves."

"Yes, sir!" Yaden gave the General what he hoped would pass as a salute.

"Dismissed." General Hamilton turned his attention back to his report and Yaden and Ivan quickly left his office to head for the big porter platform of the Tower.

Yaden couldn't help but grin as Ivan walked ahead of him. He reminded Yaden of a young hunting dog, eagerly pulling on his leash. When they reached the platform Yaden used the short waiting time until it was their turn to be ported to send a message to Colin, letting him know what he probably wouldn't make it to the premiere.

Then they both stepped into the porter circle and moments later they stood in the central square of a small, idyllic Shiraz town, complete with cobblestone streets and half-timbered houses. Or it would have been idyllic if two of the buildings on the edge of the square hadn't been reduced to smouldering ruins. It was early morning here and the sun cast bright light on tired, soot covered men and women extinguishing the last of the flames with buckets of water from the well at the centre of the square.

"Holy shit." Ivan muttered next to Yaden.

Yaden agreed, but he took a moment to attune himself to Shiraz before he moved. It was a habit he was teaching himself to get a feel for a planet when he was first visiting it. Shiraz felt warm and welcoming to him. It had been perfectly habitable to humans when they first found it and never been terraformed. It had always been a rather peaceful world specializing in high end, organic produce. For centuries it had been one of the core Habichtswald worlds. Then, after the war, it had become on imperial protectorate since it was the birth planet of Amadeus Habichtswald and he had used his influence to keep it safe from greedy Dracon claws. It was in balance and left Yaden feeling in balance in turn.

"Let's see if we can find whoever is in charge here so we can get a more detailed account of what happened." Yaden suggested and walked over to the ruins, Ivan trailing behind him.

They had only taken a few steps when a short, middle aged woman separated from the group of fire-fighters and blocked their way. She was wearing a dark green uniform which Yaden guessed meant she was with the town guard. Her hand rested firmly on the small slug gun she wore in a holster on her hip. She looked at them grimly, which wasn't much of a surprise considering they were strangers appearing out of nowhere.

Yaden put on his most sincere smile. "I'm Sir Yaden of the Phoenix Knights," he introduced himself, "your town has called for aid. The Emperor has sent me to help."

It was the first time Yaden got to use this line and it felt incredibly tacky and absolutely awesome at the same time. So far, his missions had required him to remain incognito or had consisted of him kicking the ass of a bunch of terrorists.

The change his words wrought on the expression of the woman was plain amazing. Her wariness evaporated and was replaced by a mix of startled awe and incredible relief.

"Truly?" she breathed. "Thank the lord. We did not think… Thank you, sir, thank you for coming."

Yaden smiled and delivered the second of the standard lines the PR team had drummed into his head. "Of course. The Emperor cares for each and all of his subjects. How can I help?"

"I'm Lieutenant Marlon of the town guard." The woman introduced herself. She gestured at the smouldering ruin. "We seem to have the fire under control now, but the psion has escaped…"

"Can you tell me what exactly happened here?" Yaden asked, trying to project calm and competence.

The Lieutenant laughed shakily. "I wish I knew. You see, I was off duty when all this happened. And… well… that there…" she pointed at one of the ruins, "used to be the town's guard station. All our senior officers are either dead or too injured to work. I really have no idea what I'm really doing…"

She was starting to unravel right before their eyes. Yaden quickly placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "Lieutenant, you have done a good job here. You have prevented the fire from spreading and taken care of the injured. I'm sure your superiors will commend you for your work once they are able to do so."

Apparently the word of a Phoenix Knight was enough to reassure her. She breathed deeply and then forced a smile. "Thank you, sir. I… I try." She pushed her hands through her hair, fighting to regain her composure.

"Report on what you can, please." Yaden reminded her gently.

"Yes, sir." She looked over to the other smoking ruin. "As far as I was able to determine, it started over there in the inn. One of my colleagues thought he had recognized someone who is wanted as a rogue psion by the guild. We have… I mean… we had files and pictures of all sorts of wanted criminals are suspected of being on Shiraz. The man had checked in at the inn when Eduard… my colleague was there having dinner with his wife. They have great food… had… I mean… that is probably not relevant…"

She swallowed hard and blinked at what was left of the inn, obviously fighting tears. Yaden nodded encouragingly.

"Edward sent his wife home. Thank god he sent her home… Then I guess he must have gone over to the station to check the file to make sure it was the right man. The next thing I know for sure is that he went back over to the inn with Maria and Gustav, I'm guessing to arrest the man. I spoke to Marius, the innkeeper, later and he told me he heard loud voices from the room the man had rented and then a loud banging like something heavy impacting with a wall or something. Then there were gunshots. Next Edward called for help. Apparently the psion had crushed Gustav by throwing a wardrobe at him. Maria shot the psion and wounded him. Marius called good Doctor Wanderbeer while Edward and Maria took the wounded psion to the town's guard station. And that is when it gets strange. Suddenly the inn was filled with fire. Marius told me it was like the flames just exploded. Sir, is it possible the psion left a trap or something?"

Yaden looked at Ivan. Generally he wouldn't say anything was impossible, but a psion setting up a fire trap did sound rather far fetched. Especially when he had before been throwing furniture which pointed to him being a telekinetic rather than a pyrokinetic.

"Don't look at me." Ivan defensively raised his hands. "I have no fucking clue."

"What happened then?" Yaden asked Lieutenant Marlon.

She shrugged. "From there everything gets rather muddled. They evacuated the inn as quickly as possible. The fire must have spread to the guards' station. The psion escaped in the confusion."

Yaden had the distinct feeling that they were missing some crucial pieces of information, but he was also sure that the Lieutenant wasn't holding anything back. She just didn't know.

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Yaden smiled at her, trying to project professional confidence. "If you don't mind, we'll have a look around now. I'm sure we will be able to find the trail of that rogue psion and track him down."

Lieutenant Marlon nodded, obviously relieved not to be in charge anymore. "If there is anything you need assistance with…" she offered.

"We will be sure to let you know." Yaden finished her sentence and nodded. "I think your should make sure those brave fire fighters get a rest now."

"Yes, sir." She saluted crisply and then walked back over to the exhausted group of men and women who had been watching the conversation from a safe distance. Yaden watched for a moment as she excitedly pointed over to him and Ivan, obviously telling them that a real Phoenix Knight was there to help them.

And help they would, Yaden swore silently. He had no tolerance for psion who used their powers selfishly and to hurt others.

"What do you make of this?" he asked Ivan, as much to get a second opinion as to see if his squire had paid attention.

"Psion throwing wardrobes and fire?" Ivan snorted. "Sounds fucking fishy to me. What would someone with that much juice do hiding in a backwater hovel like this?"

They would definitely have to work on Ivan's vocabulary, Yaden noted. But not now.

"I agree." He said. "Let's see what residual energy patterns we can pick up."


	2. Chapter 2

Residual energy pattern? Ivan followed his knight with a slight frown towards the ruins of the inn.

He knew that the use of psychic energy left traces for a while that could be used to identify the powers, effects and even the user of these powers. All of that had been covered in the extensive lessons about psionics he and his sister had received. He had, however, never been able to perceive any of the examples their trainers had laid out for them. One of the few subjects he and his sister had sucked at equally badly. Anita because she lacked the patience and Ivan because he just sucked at everything concerning psi.

He had a sinking feeling that Yaden would expect him to try again and he didn't see how he could succeed this time when he had failed every other time. He didn't want to disappoint Yaden, but how was he supposed to see something in a visceral way? On the other hand, Yaden had so far always been right when he had told Ivan to do something, no matter how outlandish it sounded. Ivan had always somehow found the trick to do it. So maybe he would this time as well.

Yaden stopped in front of the ruin to look at it thoughtfully. Ivan took up a hopeful position next to him and looked at the remains of the building just as thoughtfully, hoping to at least seem like he knew what he was doing, even if all he saw was charred stone, ashes and melted metal.

"Hmm." Yaden said after a while and then carefully picked his way through the still smouldering patches deeper inside. "What can you tell me about this?" he asked the question Ivan had dreaded.

"It burned?" Ivan suggested, following him.

Yaden looked over his shoulder with a smirk. "Oh really? I mean what can you tell me about the psychic component? Was it a natural fire?"

"Do I look like a fucking oracle to you?" Ivan growled. But he decided to try anyway. He looked around again, this time trying to do what his trainers had told him, empty his mind, focus his senses inward, concentrate… He was rudely interrupted by a slap to his arm by his knight.

"Not like that." Yaden admonished.

Ivan glared at him, which unsurprisingly didn't impress Yaden at all.

"Relax." Yaden told him. "Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Let yourself flow outward. Imagine your senses being a soft, light blanket being shaken out and then covering everything around you. Don't look for anything specific, just feel."

That did sound like a visceral approach, Ivan had to admit grudgingly. Doing it though was easier said than done. Relaxing was not exactly his biggest talent. Especially here, where they stood exposed and could be attacked and he was supposed to be guarding Yaden's back. He tried anyway, but the result was just that a muscle in his thigh started twitching nervously.

"FUCK!" he cursed loudly and kicked at a piece of melted masonry to relief some of the tension.

Yaden chuckled. "Okay. Maybe we'll try that lesson again another time." He said.

Ivan was about to phrase some angry retort and try again when his attention caught on that chunk of unidentifiable stone he had just kicked. "Fucking hell." He muttered and hunkered down next to it to run his fingers of the blistered surface. "Yaden, do you see this? No natural fire would burn hot enough to melt stone."

And it was still hot, he noticed. Just the surface was cooling down while the inside was still full of raw, raging fire. Yes, rage. There was white-hot, desperate rage in that fire. It felt familiar, almost. That consuming rage that was boiling up from the bottom of the heart, born of too much pain to bear.

"A psion did this." Ivan said softly. "A very, very desperate psion."

"I agree." Yaden's eyes looked slightly unfocused as if his senses were not fully in the here and now. Obviously he was quite capable of doing that 'seeing patterns' shit. "It feels… I don't know… almost familiar."

"You mean you know the psion who did this?" Ivan asked surprised.

Yaden shook his head. "No… it just… I can't quite put a name to it. Something tastes… familiar, like I have felt this before." He slowly turned in a circle. "There." He then said, pointing across the central square of the town. "The source of this rage is out there. Quite a bit outside the town."

"Right." Ivan shrugged. "So let's go and kick his ass?"

Yaden opened his mouth to answer, but then suddenly snapped it shut again with a deep frown. "Shit." He then hissed. "Crysalis. It's a young psion just awakening to their power. That's why it feels so familiar. It's how I felt when I fought the volcano."

"Uh. Didn't the lieutenant say it was a wanted rogue psion?" If Yaden was right, they were facing an incredibly unstable and dangerous foe.

"It must be two." Yaden explained. "The one they tried to arrest will be the telekinetic. The just awakened one the pyrokinetic."

Ivan groaned. He had no idea how to fight another psion, let alone two. But he had been warned plenty that Phoenix Knight missions never followed protocol and always ended up being a mess, so he didn't bother complaining. After all he had survived a fight against a demon bull with less training and hope than he had now. He was determined not to die on his very first mission. "So let's go kick two asses?" he suggested.

Yaden didn't look too happy. "I have a bad feeling about this." He muttered.

A short laugh escaped Ivan. "You have a bad feeling? Seriously? I'm about to shit my pants, but that won't stop me."

"What?" The way Yaden blinked at him, refocusing his attention back on Ivan was almost comical. "No, that's not what I meant. What I mean is that I don't think this young psion did this on purpose. He probably had no way of controlling this much power so suddenly. So we should try to subdue him."

Ivan glared at his knight incredulously. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Yaden raised an eyebrow at him and Ivan realized that his knight wasn't kidding at all. Of course he would want to protect any innocents. Including newly awakened psions gone berserk. And the worst was that Ivan couldn't help agreeing. He didn't even want to imagine how he would have dealt with suddenly unleashing a firestorm he had little control over.

He raised his hands in surrender. "Sure. One subdued pyro coming right up, boss." He agreed.

The way Yaden's frown changed to a proud smile made Ivan's heart beat a happier tune. It also made him smirk self-consciously as he realized how very starved for any kind of praise he was. Well, he'd certainly deserve a bucket of praise if he survived this, he thought with grim amusement.

Yaden headed back to where the tired fire fighters were now sitting close to the well, resting. Lieutenant Marlon was talking to them, but turned to Yaden again when they approached.

"I've located our missing psion." Yaden informed her calmly. "He is somewhere in the forest to the east of the town. I strongly advise to evacuate the region. I am now sure that the fire was caused by the psion and that there is a strong risk of a lot more destruction. Especially any air traffic over the region must be re-routed. Can you take care of that?"

She nodded, wide-eyed and clearly very impressed. "Yes, sir. I'll make sure it's done, sir."

"Good." Yaden nodded at her with that amazingly calm and encouraging smile that Ivan was determined to master too some day. "We're heading out to deal with the psion now. Please don't be alarmed when you see a lot of fire, storms or huge flying rocks. We know exactly what we are doing."

"Yes, sir!" The lieutenant saluted.

Ivan waited until they were out of earshot before he asked: "We do?"

Yaden's grin was the exact same he had always guessed must be under his thicket of hair and beard on Bora Bora. "Nope. But she doesn't need to know that."

"Now that's reassuring." Ivan answered with a mirroring grin. "And here I thought I'd missed the memo."

Yaden tapped the ground with his foot and the cobblestones of the square shifted to allow a big slab of rock to rise up. It was hovering above the ground, bobbing slightly, while Yaden used his foot to pat the cobblestones back into place.

"Wow, that's handy." Ivan commented and climbed up onto the rock, settling down on it.

"Very." Yaden agreed and joined him. "I wonder if we can find some way to increase your mobility, too." He stood on the rock and Ivan could see how his toes dug into it, controlling its movement. The rock rose higher and gathered speed, flying in the direction that Yaden had pointed out earlier.

Ivan pondered Yaden's question. It wasn't like flame was something he could stand on. Maybe if he generated enough thrust he could propel himself like a rocket, but that would probably just be feasible for short hops. It was definitely an idea to keep in mind though. It might give him the edge in combat to dodge a large area attack.

"So what's the plan?" he asked Yaden, concentrating on the task at hand again.

They were now leaving the town and travelling over some outlying farms. Ahead of them, dense pine forest loomed.

"We'll try to get as close as possible without them noticing us." Yaden answered. "Ideally I want to talk, not fight."

"Even though we are talking about a wanted rogue psion here?" Ivan looked up at his knight in surprise.

Yaden shrugged. "The Psions Guild is far from infallible. Just because they are looking for that man doesn't make him a criminal." He smirked down at Ivan. "After all, I found you on Bora Bora and gave you a chance. Besides, it's general policy of the Emperor: as questions first, knock heads only if necessary. If you want first strike carnage you have to hire up with the Empress."

Ivan shuddered at the thought. "No thanks, I'm quite happy with my current employer."

Yaden took them down close to the treetops. If they hadn't been on a deadly mission, it would have been quite a beautiful trip. The air was crisply clean, the sun slowly rising higher and showing off the deep, healthy green of the majestic pine trees. It brought to Ivan's attention how very sick Yaiciz with its endless grey in brown cities and industrial areas looked.

His musings were rude cut short when a sudden blast of air violently jerked the rock to the right and out of balance.

"What the fuck!" Ivan yelled and desperately scrambled to find something to hang on to while Yaden fought to steady the rock.

"They've noticed us." The Phoenix Knight stated calmly. Then he frowned. "That wasn't a telekinetic attack. That's…" he raised his head and looked up at the sky, "not good."

Ivan followed his line of sight. At first he didn't notice anything, but then he heard the howl of wind and below them the trees started to sway violently, bowing before a much too strong gale suddenly blowing at them from where they were heading. Looking further out he realized that it wasn't just the trees below them but a growing cone, radiating outward from where their quarry probably was.

Yaden had adjusted his stance, now leaning into the wind, his arms stretched out low, furiously doing… something. Their rock was still travelling forward slowly, mostly steadied again. Ivan quickly decided that this was not a good moment to interrupt the other psion with stupid questions. Instead he concentrated on scanning ahead, trying to find that spot the sudden wind emanated from.

"Be ready," Yaden suddenly growled through clenched teeth, "fire incoming."

After his fight against the demon bull-gorilla, Ivan wasn't overly worried about fire. As long as he stood between Yaden and the attack, he was confident he would be able to just shield his knight with his body. The hard part was that he didn't know where the attack would be coming from. Luckily, their attacker wasn't overly creative and he saw the huge, deep-red fireball hurtling towards them well in time. Standing on the moving rock wasn't that hard anymore either, now that it was slower.

With a flick of his hands Ivan activated his flame sabres to parry. It all was much too fast for him to react to some warning bell shrilling in the back of his mind. Right before the fire would have hit him full on Yaden tore the rock sideways with a violent jerk that toppled Ivan from his feet and from the rock. He was lucky it did. The edge of the fire singed him painfully. For a heartbeat, he was falling towards the treetops, and then he impacted with the rock again which Yaden had raced below him to catch him.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Ivan yelled in shocked pain, hanging on for dear life.

His shout was nearly drowned out as all around them suddenly all hell broke loose, the wind picking up to hurricane force in a matter of seconds. Apparently, the sudden manoeuvre had cost Yaden his control over the storm.

"Intent to hurt you!" Yaden shouted over the howling wind. "Have to block that, too!" He was crouching low now as well, steadying their rock to a hover. "Have to contain this storm, keep me alive!"

He was right, of course, and Ivan silently cursed himself for his stupidity. All effects a psion created were essentially just manifestations of his will. He had learned that in his studies of psionics. He just hadn't translated it properly in this instant.

But fire was still fire, he thought grimly. So he should be able to gain a measure of control over it, even if it technically wasn't his.

Yaden was already fully concentrating on the massive storm around them. The sky had gone dark and the air was loaded with electricity. Ivan didn't bother acknowledging his knight's orders. He'd keep Yaden alive or die trying. Simple as that.

Hyped up as he was now, this time he sensed the incoming fire himself, he could just feel the effects build up and be released towards him with the intent to kill. Once more, he took up a spot between Yaden and harm, but this time he stood with his arms outstretched before him, ready to catch and divert the ball of flame. He still singed his fingers, but he was able to bat the fire to the side.

A whole barrage of fireballs followed, giving him opportunity to perfect his technique. He quickly found out that it was easier the lighter he kept his touch. Almost like playing beach volleyball, he realized with a slightly hysteric edge to his amusement.

The rock gained momentum again, moving forward through the raging storm. Trees were by now flattened against the earth of ripped free, hurtling through the air. Ivan had no idea what Yaden was doing. It didn't really look like he had any control, but then Ivan hadn't any idea what this what have looked like without Yaden either so he chose to ignore it and stay focused on his job.

Below them, the forest was now mostly gone, ripped up and blown away. That finally gave him a clear view of their foe. At the centre of the raging storm, he could make out the crumbled ruins of a small building. And in front of it stood a lone figure, tiny from his view from above. Long hair whipped in the wind, burning bright just as Ivan had burned when he had fought the demon.

"There!" he shouted over the wind and pointed. "Can we smite it now?!"

"No!" Yaden yelled back.

Being one of the good guys did have negative sides, Ivan thought with a sarcastic snort. He didn't complain, though. Being one of the good guys was pretty awesome, too.

Yaden brought the rock down and they landed with a crunch that was audible even over the howling storm. Ivan thought he heard a piercing shriek from the small figure ahead of them, but he wasn't sure. He now realized that it was a child standing there, probably a girl, but he wasn't sure. To think that a mere kid would wield such powers was scary indeed.

She had one hand pressed to her temple, while the other was balled to a fist at her side, so Ivan guessed she was a cerebral psion. For the moment, her barrage of fire had ceased, so Ivan chanced a glance at what Yaden was doing. His knight was standing with the feet planted firmly apart, his arms raised to the sky, whirling them in a slow circle as if he was drawing something into an ever tighter knot. Looking up, Ivan realized that it was the storm Yaden was pulling in. The wind was still strong, but the actual storm was dying, the sky growing lighter again. Now it was more a matter of moving air than weather.

"She is growing tired." Yaden said and started moving forward.

Ivan made a point of staying in front of him to block any further attacks.

As they got closer he got a clearer view of the girl. She was maybe ten years old and wearing sturdy, baggy travelling clothes. Behind her another person, judging from the size an adult, was lying on the ground, unmoving. Ivan guessed that this had to be the psion the town guards had tied to arrest. It looked like she was standing guard over him.

Her attention had been on the dying storm, but when she noticed them approach, she fully focused on them. Ivan could feel the psychic heat emanating from her as she tapped deeply into her pyrokinetic powers.

"No! NO!!" YOU WON'T TAKE PAPA!!" she screamed at them and then red fire exploded towards them in a huge wave of desperate rage.

This was not an effect Ivan could bat aside. He had only a split second to decide what to do. He was pretty sure he could shield himself from the impact, but that would still have fried Yaden behind him to a crisp. So he opened his arms wide, welcoming the fire. It was his element and he stubbornly willed himself to simply absorb it. At first it worked wonderfully. The fire poured into Ivan, almost sucked into him, igniting his blood with pleasure. But it didn't end there and it filled him up until he felt he would burst with it. Pain raced through him and still there was more and more coming in. He screamed, but refused to surrender.

And suddenly it was over. With silent wonder he stared at his smouldering hands. Then the pain hit him full force, every single fibre of his body aching. Manaburn, again, he thought, before blackness claimed him and he collapsed.


	3. Chapter 3

Yaden only had a split second to realize what Ivan planned to do and then it was already too late as his friend opened himself up wide to the attack, channelling the incoming energy into his own reserves.

Something he wasn't supposed to be able to do yet, since he'd never practiced anything even remotely like it. And of course it was way too much energy way too quickly for him to absorb.

With fire starting to bleed through Ivan, Yaden threw up a shield of rock around both of them. Too slow, but hopefully not entirely too late.

Ivan made a sound somewhere between a grunt and a startled laugh and then he collapsed face first. Heroic and incredibly talented he was, Yaden thought, but maybe a little too much of both. They really, really needed to train fighting together. If they got out of this alive. He quickly knelt next to Ivan's smoking body to feel his pulse and was relieved when he found it good and strong. Only unconscious and severely mana-burned.

Time to find a way to talk to the frightened child who had loosened a storm that she wouldn't have been able to control and that might well have destroyed the whole region. Yaden lowered the shield down, ready to throw it right up again should she attack anew, though he was pretty sure she wouldn't. She felt drained.

The girl was still standing there, but now she was swaying slightly and when she caught sight of Ivan's body she cried out in horror, both hands flying to her mouth.

"Oh nononono…" she muttered, clearly audible over the dying winds. She took a step back and then abruptly sat next to the man's body she had been guarding.

Yaden took a cautious step towards her, both hands held up in a non-threatening gesture. "Ssh, I'm not going to hurt you." He said gently. "I just want to talk to you."

She was crying, he now saw. Had probably been crying the whole time, judging from how swollen her eyes looked.

"You can't have papa…" she once more muttered, but now she just sounded exhausted and despairing. She huddled next to the man who must be her father.

"I am not going to take your papa." Yaden tried to reassure her, but she interrupted him.

"Liar! You are with them! With the guild!" she accused, "You're one of them!"

Yaden hunkered down about two paces away from her, not wanting to crowd her. "I'm not with the Psions Guild." He said and held up his hands again, showing her his bracers. "See, this is the symbol of the Phoenix Knights. I'm Sir Yaden."

A choked sob escaped her and her eyes darted to Ivan's unconscious form again. "Have I… is he…?"

"He is just unconscious." Yaden reassured her. "You haven't killed him." That she was so worried about it was a good sign to him. She really was just a frightened child, defending her father with all means at her disposal.

He tried to get a closer look at the body of the man and what he saw didn't look good. He was lying in a pool of blood and as far as Yaden could tell, he wasn't breathing. She followed his line of sight and new tears streamed down her face.

"Papa…" she whispered and reached out to touch him, only to stop before she really did. She looked at Yaden again with such bleak despair it just broke his heart.

"Your papa is hurt." He said gently. "Would it be okay if I checked on him?"

She nodded immediately and Yaden got the feeling that she really needed some adult to take control of things again. He crossed the distance between them, careful to don't make any sudden moves. Then he knelt next to the unmoving body of the man. He looked to have been in his late thirties, with longish brown hair and a well kept beard, wearing the same sort of sturdy travel clothes the girl had. He also was very definitely dead, died from the untreated gun shot wounds.

"He's dead, isn't he…?" The girl whispered tonelessly.

"I'm sorry, yes, he is." Yaden answered truthfully. There was no point in lying to her, she knew anyway.

For another moment she somehow kept a shred of composure, then she started crying in earnest and Yaden gently pulled her into his embrace. She didn't resist as he snuggled her thin body against his and wrapped her into the steady calm that he drew from the solid earth all around him. He was no empath, but her anguish rolled over him in waves that any caring human would have felt.

It took her a long time until her crying subsided to occasional sobs.

"What is your name, dear?" he asked her softly.

"Myriam." Came her muffled reply.

"Your papa was hiding from the Psions Guild, yes?" Yaden checked.

She nodded without lifting her head from his shoulder. "They killed mama." She said. "They said she was sick and that they would help her and then she died."

Yaden sighed deeply. It wouldn't be the first time the Psions Guild fucked up royally. After all, they had nearly ruined him too with their fumbling. They were getting pretty good with standard cases, but anything out of the ordinary still had about a 40% chance to end up in pain and misery, as far as he could see. He'd have to do some digging to find out what exactly had gone wrong in this case.

"They are going to kill me, too." The little girl in his arms whispered bleakly.

"No, dear." Yaden gently separated her far enough from his shoulder so she could look at him. "I promise I will protect you. I won't let them near you."

Myriam sniffed unhappily and looked doubtful.

"I'm a Phoenix Knight. I give you my word of honour that the Psions Guild shall never have you." Yaden told her. She was a rare talent and he wouldn't allow the guild to turn her into some sort of lab rat. He and Ivan would be better suited to properly train her anyway, even if she was a cerebral like he thought.

"But… but I hurt your friend." She gestured towards Ivan incredulously.

"You were just trying to defend your papa. I understand that and Ivan will, too." Yaden said gently.

She swallowed hard. "I… I also hurt people… back in town… I think…" she confessed, so utterly heart broken that Yaden hugged her close again.

"I know, love." He said softly. "You didn't mean to, did you?"

"Nooo!" Miriam sobbed more than said and started crying again.

Yaden stroked her hair and held her close. "You won't do it again." He told her, trying to comfort her. "I will show you how to control your powers. I promise."

This time she calmed down a little quicker, but she also was completely exhausted.

"Shall we bury your papa here so the guild can't get to him?" Yaden asked her.

Miriam nodded and then disentangled herself from him to kneel next to her father. "I'm sorry, papa." She whispered.

She couldn't quite bring herself to touch his body, so Yaden took her hand and laid his hand and hers on the man's chest. "I promise I will take good care of your daughter." Yaden said solemnly.

Then he opened the earth under the body and let it sink down, deep into the rocky foundation of the ground they were standing on.

Yaden got to his feet and picked Miriam up, settling her in his arm. He was relieved when she slung her arms around his neck. Apparently she had decided to trust him. He scanned the ruins of the small cottage Miriam had been standing in front of. "Is there anything you want to take with you?" he asked her.

"It all burned." She answered sadly.

"Right, let's get out of here then." Yaden firmly and loudly thought the emergency signal that would get him the attention of Shiraz Prime. It took only a moment for the psion to respond.

\--Yes, Sir Yaden, how may I help?-- A calm female presence contacted him.

\--I need a connection to Lieutenant Marlon in the town nearby.-- Yaden explained. --And after that I will need a port to P2, straight to my quarters in the Phoenix Knight Tower for me, my squire and the girl with me. Please contact P2 Prime for the coordinates.-- He wouldn't risk taking Miriam anywhere else where someone might think they could take her from him. The last thing the girl needed now was to witness a confrontation like that. The safest bet by far was to take her to his quarters and then work out the rest.

\--Right away, sir.--

Yaden felt the shift in focus and then he was connected to much more confusing and untrained mind. --Lieutenant Marlon?-- Yaden thought at her, trying to limit his communication to words. --This is Sir Yaden.--

\--OH! SIR!! OHMYGODICAN'TBELIEVEHE'SINMYHEAD!!-- came the rather muddled reply.

\--Lieutenant, we have neutralised the rogue psion.-- Yaden informed her calmly, carefully emptying his open mind of all the details. Lying was very hard over a telepathic connection, but leaving out things was quite possible. --Your town is safe now.--

\--Thank you, sir! I don't know how to thank you for your assistance. This is so freaking awesome! A real Phoenix Knight!-- Her mix of proper communication and excited mental babbling was quite charming.

Yaden smiled and made sure it bled over into the connection as well. --Lieutenant, my squire and I are urgently needed elsewhere. Will you be able to deal with the clean up on your own?--

\--Of course, sir! I wonder where they are going now, damn, probably some huge monster of something. But holy cow that squire of his is so cute!-- She answered, entirely unaware of Yaden catching the last part of her thoughts.

He looked down to where Ivan still lay unconscious and slightly charred. He'd definitely have to let the PR team know that his new squire was a success from their point of view and considered cute. They'd surely find a way to turn a profit with that.

\--Good luck, lieutenant.-- Yaden thought at her and then pulled back from the connection.

\--Your port is ready, sir.-- Shiraz Prime immediately reported in.

"We will be ported now, dear." Yaden told Miriam. "Don't be afraid." Then he gave Shiraz Prime the okay to port them.

With the prolonged battle against the storm it had felt to Yaden like they had been on Shiraz for hours, so he was a little surprised to find Colin still at home. He was dressed up in finery already and getting ready to leave. He had expected the movie premiere to be well under way already. With Darren standing in the doorway to the kitchen it looked like he had interrupted their goodbyes.

"What the…?" Colin yelped, just as startled as Yaden only to immediately switch to deeply worried. "Oh my god, Yaden! Are you alright?!"

Looking down himself Yaden thought that he didn't look half as mangled as poor Ivan who had been deposited on the floor next to him. Maybe a little scorched and ruffled, but not hurt.

"I'm fine." He reassured his beloved.

Miriam snuggled closer to him like a dead weight. She was losing her fight against exhaustion, Yaden realized. The chrysalis of a psion left them completely drained and the added emotional stress had been tremendous. She was close to completely shutting down.

Colin didn't look entirely convinced, but his attention shifted to the little girl now, too. "And who is this…?" he asked, his voice quickly shifting from worried to warm and caring.

"This is Miriam." Yaden introduced. He smiled at Colin hopefully. "She has just lost the last of her family. She is also a strong psion and needs our protection."

A dark frown immediately appeared on Colin's face. "Is someone threatening her?" he asked, taking a step towards Yaden with that clear protective air Yaden madly loved him for.

"Maybe." Yaden answered. "She is very tired. Let's put her to bed and then I'll tell you about it?"

Colin nodded and then noticed Ivan. "You put her to bed and we'll take care of Ivan." He suggested. "I see he kept his word in guarding you." Which apparently earned him Colin's care, who shook his head at Ivan's condition. "What the hell did he do?"

"He is mana-burned, mostly." Yaden explained. "With a little elixir for his skin burns and a good night of sleep he'll be fine."

"Right." Colin nodded again and waved Yaden off. "Go, I've got this."

Darren had watched them in what Yaden called his 'approving silence' so far. "I'll call PR and tell them Colin won't make it to the premiere either." He now volunteered. It was a detail neither Yaden nor Colin would have remembered.

Which left Yaden with the question where exactly he was going to put Miriam to sleep. Their little apartment was meant for two people to live in it, a Phoenix Knight and a servant. Colin moving in hadn't been a problem since Yaden and Colin shared a bed. Ivan was already sleeping on the couch in the living room which definitely wasn't a long term solution. With a little sigh Yaden carried Miriam to the bedroom he shared with Colin. They really needed to get more living space. Preferably somewhere where he and Ivan, and now Miriam as well, could train without endangering anyone. But that would have to wait for another day.

When he settled Miriam on their big bed, he realized that she had fallen asleep already. He took off her travelling boots and then tucked her under the blanket. It tore at his heart how small and defeated she looked. Gently he brushed from strands of hair from her face. "I will keep you safe." He promised her in a whisper.

Back in the living room he found Ivan now comfortably settled on his couch but still unconscious, with Colin carefully applying elixir to his burned hands and face. He could hear Darren talking in the kitchen, apparently on the phone. Yaden could only marvel at the calm in his voice as he must be talking to the infernal PR team.

Colin looked up as Yaden came in. "So?" he asked calmly.

"Apparently her father was hunted by the Psions Guild as a rogue psion." Yaden launched into his explanation without preamble, knowing that Colin preferred to get facts. "I still have to find out why exactly. Town guards on Shiraz recognized him and tried to arrest him, he was hurt and in her panicked attempt to protect him her psionic talents awakened."

Colin looked down at Ivan. "Let me guess - fire."

"Yes, and a fair bit of control over air, too. She might well be prime level." Yaden sighed. "She did a lot of damage, but it was too late for her father. By the time we got to her, he was already dead. The Guild will very badly want to get their hands on her and she is terrified of them. And I very much doubt they will be able to properly handle her anyway."

"You don't have to convince me." Colin smiled at him with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "I surely won't throw a child in need out of my house."

Yaden crossed the distance between them and leaned down to kiss his lover. "And that is one reason I love you so very much." He said softly.

"You realize that you will need something more legally binding than 'you can't have her!', though." Darren chimed in from the doorway to the kitchen. Apparently he had managed to shut up PR.

The notion that the Psions Guild might try to take Miriam from him with some legal hubbub made Yaden bristle with fury instantly.

Darren knew him well enough to notice. "Yaden." He admonished calmly.

"How about we adopt her." Colin suggested, taking both Yaden and Darren by surprise.

The thought settled like warm honeyed milk in Yaden's belly. It would be a perfect solution.

"I mean," Colin added, "it's not like we'll have kids any other way and I've always wanted a big family."

Darren nodded. "That would work nicely. If you adopt her it makes her a noble and you her legal guardian. You'd be in your right to throw anyone who tries to take her into a convenient volcano." The 'just like your mother did' was a silent tag on, but Yaden heard it clearly.

"Well then," Yaden said with a small smile, "looks like we will have a daughter. And Darren will get to play nanny for another difficult psion child."


End file.
